Of Illusion and Deception
by ChaoticInsomniac
Summary: Morgana's search for Emrys becomes more desperate, until she decides that the only way she'll find Emrys is to do her own spying. She returns to Camelot, disguised as a maid, but finds that she has bitten off a little more than she can chew.
1. Chapter 1

**_It seems this is my first fic. It's an experiment really, and I mainly wrote it because this is how I would have liked things to have gone. Anyone interested in reading more? Reviews are very much appreciated and would motivate me to write. Anyway, enjoy. :)_**

Emrys.

The word echoed around Morgana's mind, tormenting her with its lack of depth and meaning. She had now attached it to a person, a man, a man who haunted her dreams and seemed to be appearing in her life more and more. She now remembered how the old man had narrowly escaped execution after owning up to one of her own schemes. She sighed, guessing that he must have been watching her even before then- no wonder so many of them had failed. Who knew how long he had been in Camelot, watching her, safe and hidden. And yet he still refused to tell her who he was. No-one could be called Emrys in their day to day life. 'Emrys' was a druidic name and he certainly was not a Druid. She could sense the facade around the man. There was something strange about him, something hidden...

Morgana felt a wave of rage wash over her. How could Emrys be so powerful, and of the old religion and still be on Arthur's side? She had seen to it that Arthur hated magic. She would be the one to restore magic to the land! It was her who should be sitting on the throne of Camelot, not Arthur! She should be there with Morgause by her side! But now, because of Merlin and that Emrys she was stuck here in a cold, damp hovel, barely forging an existence!

Morgana heard a loud crash as a pot containing herbs she had collected smashed into a thousand pieces. She sighed miserably. She really did need to learn to control her anger, or at least how to fix things or she would end up having no possessions at all. She knelt and had started to sweep the pieces into her hands when she heard a sharp rap at her door. She recognised the knock – Agravaine. She quickly sprung to her feet, kicking the pieces of pot under the table, and sat back down; she needed to keep her dignity.

"Enter."

The door opened and Agravaine peered around it.

"My Lady-"

"What news?" Morgana cut in sharply. Agravaine had been visiting rather more often than she would have liked recently, and was starting to get on her nerves.

Agravaine seemed to sag slightly as he closed the door behind him.

"None, My Lady."

"What do you mean 'none'? There must be something. Someone somewhere must have heard of an Emrys."

"We have scoured every inch of land and searched-"

"Well you'd better search harder then." Morgana snapped, feeling her anger bubble over. Emrys couldn't hide from her forever, no matter how powerful he was. It would only take one small mistake and she would find him. "I take it you have searched within Camelot as well?" Morgana enquired.

Agravaine looked a little taken aback.

"Of course. But it is hard for me to openly investigate without being suspected, My Lady."

"But that is where we must focus our search. Emrys must live, or have lived within Camelot. There have been too many coincidences. Camelot has a resident sorcerer and that sorcerer must be Emrys! It's the only explanation that makes any sense!"

"Why are you so intent on finding this Emrys?" Agravaine asked.

Morgana hesitated. She hadn't told Agravaine of her seer's gift and had no intention of doing so. If he betrayed her – and she had no doubt that he would- she would need to have kept a few secrets from him. She was unsure how much good it would do her, but it hardly mattered. It would be easy for her to win against him.

"The druids told me of him while I was staying with them. They said that he is my destiny, but if I didn't take action, he would be my doom. He has already found me. I want to find him before he can make use of that advantage."

Agravaine nodded, clearly pretending to understand. Morgana waited as he stood there, watching her.

"Is that all?", she asked after several minutes had passed.

Agravaine seemed to wake from his thoughts suddenly.

"Oh, uh. Yes, My Lady. I believe so."

Morgana waited. He didn't move. Morgana cast a meaningful look at him and then at the door. He seemed to get the message and walked to the door. He turned before opening it and spoke again.

"If there is anything you require..." He left his sentence hanging, realising that Morgana was paying him no attention at all, and left quietly.

Morgana let out a sigh, the beat of his horse's hooves fade into nothing. It was a shame he was the only spy she had. She could do with one less annoying and less interested in her. She thought for a moment on how useful he was. He was certainly in the most convenient position he could be in, though the information she received always seemed limited, and she was beginning to question his commitment. To find Emrys she would need a servant, someone who was almost invisible within Camelot and could pick up information most people couldn't. She suppressed a wave of frustration. She wished desperately that she could be the one in Camelot, searching for Emrys. But of course, the idea was ridiculous. No-one would ever reveal anything to her. Unless...

She thought back to Emrys, and how there was something false. He could be using magic to disguise himself, she remembered reading about such a spell in one of her stolen books. But then, surely Emrys couldn't be that old. The only person that old in Camelot was Gaius, and Uther had told her he was a very weak magician. She roughly pushed the thought of Uther from her mind; she knew better than to trust anything he had said.

She stood and picked out the appropriate book, flipping through the thick, yellowed pages, searching for the one she remembered. She cursed as her finger slipped and one of the pages cut it, a line of blood running along the side of the page. She continued searching with a different finger until she finally turned to the right page in the centre of the book. She quickly read through the spell. It was long, and probably took a lot of power. She quickly flipped back over to the next page to look at the counter spell. It was even longer, and far more complex than the original. She bit her lip hesitantly, weighing the information she could gain against the possibility of being unable to undo the spell. But would it really be so bad. No-one need recognise her now other than Agravaine. Maybe not even him now that she had this plan in place.

Before giving herself time to think further she picked the book off the table and incanted the spell.

"_Áhýdan mín andwlita ond bælignis__forescýwa áhwylfan mín afol. __Áhreddan mec fram oucnaweuness. Áwendednes mín ferjgt. Áwendednes mín ætwist. Íc béon ne exon!"_

_**Just quickly to thank my beta reader, without whom this chapter would be far worse. Please review. My heart will break otherwise. **_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Hello. I have two apologies, the first of which is that I appreciate that this is a week late, as I like to update at least once a week, but I have been ill and stuck in bed, so it's not entirely my fault. Second is that my chapters are usually twice as long as this and the last one, but I have to switch to Merlin after this one, and if I hadn't finished the chapters where I did, they would have dragged. I will start writing chapter 3 first thing tomorrow to try to make up for my illness and lack of organisational skills.**_

_**Thank you so, so much for all the reviews. They made me so happy. But I crave more. More I tell you. I know there are people out there not reviewing. I hear you breathing. But thank you so much for reading. It means a lot to me. :) No pressure though, guys. ^.^'**_

_**Enjoy.**_

**Chapter 2**

Morgana sighed irritably, looking around her in confused frustration. Though she had lived here for almost all her life, she had never realised that there was an entire network of hidden corridors which the servants used that she had barely ever set foot in. She knew she had been here before, though she supposed it must have been a long time ago on one of the many occasions that she had been bored and Arthur hadn't been around for her to annoy. Of course, that had all changed when she had discovered her magic.

She bent down to pick up the folded sheets that she was meant to be putting away and felt a now familiar pang of surprise as she missed the sensation of the warm weight of her hair falling forwards over her shoulders as she did so. She smiled to herself. The spell had worked well and she was pleased with the result. Her hair was still long and black, but she had had to pin it up, as the other servants did – it made it easier while she was working. Her skin was still pale, though she fancied that it was a shade or two darker than before, but that might have been because she had been living in such dim light and wearing black for so long. Her face had changed subtly, and though it was only a few small changes to the shape and proportions it completely disguised who she really was. The only thing she disliked was her eyes. They hadn't changed and she was worried that if someone, particularly Emrys were to study her too closely they might notice and become suspicious. Then again, she had been working for three days now, and few people were that observant.

As she continued on her way, searching for the storeroom she knew was in this maze somewhere, she stretched her arms out, trying to release some of the tension from her shoulders. Her posture had become terrible since she'd had to spend much of her time hunched over during her work. She hated the work with a passion, and thus far she had yet to discover anything about the elusive Emrys. Somehow she would have to force Emrys to reveal himself.

She frowned, thinking. It was nearly impossible to get close to Gaius, as most of her duties kept her mostly on the other side of the castle and the only other time Emrys showed himself was when Arthur was in danger. He would have to be her target. She smirked slightly; the one advantage of this job was that it gave her plenty of time to think.

She dropped the sheets again, struggling not to curse as she walked into something hard. She dropped to her knees and began to gather them back up, cursing herself for not looking where she was going. She blinked up at the pillar she had walked into, then glanced around, breathing a sigh of relief that no-one had seen. As she was gathering up the last of the sheets she saw a figure bend down to pick up and fold the one that had slid furthest away. She felt a surge of hatred and it was the most she could do to prevent herself hitting him. Merlin. She considered roughly snatching the sheet off him until she remembered how he had escaped her before. Emrys had chosen not to kill the boy, but to steal her Fomorroh and kill it to prevent Merlin hurting Arthur, which was not his easiest option. Emrys must care for this boy, at least enough to risk his life for him. If she could get close to Merlin, she might stand a chance of getting closer to Emrys. As much as she hated to do it, she had no choice.

She stood up at the same time as Merlin, praying that he wouldn't look too closely at her eyes.

"Are you alright?" Merlin asked, handing the sheet back to her.

Morgana took a moment to compose herself before answering.

"Yes, thank you." She forced herself to smile at him. She felt it falter slightly as she noticed him studying her, a look of thoughtful confusion on his face.

"Have we met?" He asked. Morgana immediately looked down at the sheets, under the pretence of sorting them into a neater pile.

"No, I don't believe so."

Merlin didn't seem convinced.

"You remind me of someone I knew once." He said, seeming almost a little sad.

Morgana forced herself to smile at him again.

"I have one of those faces." She lied smoothly.

"No, no. Your voice. It sounds familiar."

Her voice? Surely her accent couldn't be that unique, could it? She hadn't thought anyone would recognise her accent and inflections, and had been concentrating solely on her appearance. Of all the people that could have recognised her, it had to have been Merlin. If Merlin did, the results could be disastrous- for all she knew he might know Emrys and if he recognised her he might go running back to Emrys before she'd had a chance to make use of her plan.

"Where are you from?" Merlin asked, clearly trying to break her thoughtful silence.

"I don't know." Morgana cursed in her head. She had answered without thinking, and now she would have to make up a story to go with it. "We moved around so much when I was a child I don't really know where I was originally from." She smirked, as Merlin swallowed the story without question, but immediately stopped when she saw him giving her a slightly confused look.

"Did you need any help with those...?" He tailed off clearly realising he didn't yet know her name.

"Lynette. Do you have any idea where these are supposed to go?" She asked, not needing to act the gratitude that came into her voice.

Merlin nodded, giving her directions to the store room which was now only a few metres away.

"Thank you, Merlin."

As she turned to leave Merlin called after her.

"How did you know my name?"

She turned back, cursing her mistake, at a loss for words.

"I've... Overheard people talking about you. I recognised you."

Without looking at Merlin to see his reaction, Morgana hurried away. She had to leave before that irritating boy could make her make any more mistakes.

_**There it is. Hopefully I'll get on with it soon. Reviews are loved, and constructive criticism very much appreciated. Am also working on something else with Gwen at the moment because I was so upset by what happened in this weeks episode. :'( Thank you for reading, and to my beta. **_


	3. Chapter 3

_**... I have no excuses. I am aware of how long I have been away. All I can do is apologise. I hope you'll bear with me. This chapter is very short and just a brief glimpse into Merlin's mind. The next chapter, which I have nearly finished, will be longer and up hopefully later this week if all goes to plan.**_

**Chapter 3**

Merlin watched Lynette hurry away with a slightly puzzled look on his face. He was sure he recognised her from somewhere, but couldn't put his finger on where. Although she was just a serving girl, her posture was similar to that of a noble, shoulders back, head high and confident. He shook his head and continued on down the corridor, pushing the woman from his mind. He had far more important things to do than think about a beautiful, yet oddly familiar woman, like protecting Arthur and trying to make sure he didn't do anything too idiotic.

As much as Merlin enjoyed the relative peace he had been experiencing of late, but he had started to worry constantly about Morgana's next move and when she would make it. Had she already put a plan into action and managed to slip by him? He feared for Arthur's life far more than ever, but it was hard to track the king twenty-four hours a day, what with all the important and supposedly private meetings he had to attend. Merlin knew that it was unlikely he would be in any danger, but the presence of Agravaine made him nervous.

He sighed as he opened the door to Gaius's chambers and stepped through, hoping Arthur would send for him soon, and at least temporarily put his mind at rest.

_**Review? :3 I am writing the next chapter now...**_


	4. Chapter 4

**_I did it. I have finished this chapter and I will now start on the next one. :) This one is longer than the last. I know you want me to make them longer but I have to cut it here because after this I have to switch back to Merlin. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it._ **

**Chapter 4**

Morgana watched as Arthur left the dining hall followed by various other nobles and Agravaine. Morgana caught herself just in time, as Agravaine pushed past her and she managed to stop herself threatening him. Agravaine thought she was just a serving girl, and she saw no reason to change that any time in the near future.

She stared after Arthur, pondering her next move. She had managed to accept that she was unlikely to succeed in killing Arthur until she had caught and dealt with Emrys, but in order to find him, she would have to make a move on Arthur.'It would have to done secretly: to let herself be discovered and have her position in the castle jeopardized would be to take a step backwards, and she could not risk losing her life or freedom. She would had to find somebody else to do it.

She glanced over her shoulder to catch Agravaine disappearing around a corner. She supposed it would do no harm to have Agravaine do the work for her, for her, provided he wasn't caught, of course. Even if he was caught, what did it matter? There was no need for him any more: she could spy for herself now. He wouldn't even have to know that she was residing in Camelot if she paid her visit as herself. And once she had discovered the identity of Emrys it would be easy to surprise him. He clearly had no idea she was here or he would have tried to eliminate her by now. And once that was done, there would be no need for her to hide any longer. Taking Arthur's life and her rightful throne would be effortless.

Morgana frowned and took out a slip of parchment and muttered a spell, the details of a time and meeting place appearing upon it. She folded it into quarters, and started walking back towards the kitchens, searching for a guard who looked particularly stupid and obedient. She found what she was looking for a few corridors from the kitchens. She approached him, being sure to seem timid and unsure.

"Excuse me?" The guard turned his head to look at her. "The king requests that this be delivered to Lord Agravaine immediately." She held out the slip of parchment. The guard looked down at it and back up at her, with a slightly puzzled expression.  
>"Why do I have to do it?" Morgana thought quickly.<br>"His Majesty requested that I find the nearest member of his trusted guard." She lied carefully hiding her disgust at having to call her brother 'His Majesty'. The guard took the note and walked quickly away from her. Morgana watched him go, amazed that Arthur had yet to replace Uther's useless guards. It was no miracle she had been able to sneak out to meet Morgause so was surprised that Arthur hadn't learned his lesson, but then, Arthur had never been the brightest.

Morgana sighed irritably, watching as the moon rise slowly over Camelot. She leant against a tree outside the castle, exhausted from the spell she had used to change back into herself. Agravaine should have been here hours ago! She tried to calm her anger as she picked at her fraying black lace sleeve, not caring that her whole dress was likely to unravel if she continued.

She looked up suddenly, alert to the sounds of someone moving towards her through the trees. Slipping behind the nearest one, she peered at the person approaching until she identified him as Agravaine. As he picked his way through the fallen leaves she emerged, her face directing a particularly menacing glare which she reserved for times like this, towards him.

"You're late again, Agravaine." She saw Agravaine's stress level rise slightly as he saw the expression on her face.

"I can only offer my humblest apologies, My Lady."

"Well maybe you can redeem yourself by making some progress with the task I give you for once." She could tell by his face that he was hurt, and wanted to protest but he held himself back, waiting for her to speak again.

His attention moved to her hand as she held out a small poultice. It was by no means one of her more elaborate plans, nor was it one with a high chance of success, but she needed one that was easily foiled to lure Emrys out into the open.

"This should be quite easy. You must position this either under Arthur's pillow or below his bed."

Agravaine nodded as he took the poultice from her and hid it away in a pouch on his belt. Morgana resisted the urge to sigh. She hated how similar this plan was to some of her others, but she had no choice. Even if she had been trying to succeed in killing Arthur, she had lost count of how many times she had tried and she was beginning to run out of ideas.

"Might I enquire as to what effect it will have, My Lady?"

Morgana glared at him, as she had been hoping he would just leave.

"The less you know, the less likely it is that others will find out."

Agravaine looked as if she'd just slapped him, but he bowed and left. Morgana watched him go, marvelling at how loyal he was, despite the way she treated him. She waited for a while after he was gone before chanting the words of the spell that would change her back into a servant, and walked to the lake nearby to check her reflection. To her relief she saw that her face had transformed back into the face of 'Lynette'. She used the lake as a makeshift mirror to pin her hair back up before turning to make her way back towards Camelot, praying that the guards had not returned from the wild goose chase she had sent them on in order to leave.

_**Reviews? Honestly, they do motivate me to write and they also remind me to do it. I got a review earlier and that reminded me to finish and put this up. :) And I do appreciate Morgana's plan is uncreative, but I'm hoping I made it clear that it's meant to be. **_


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